The Las Vegas Raiders face another tough opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, on Sunday. Despite their 2-4 record, the Rams can still trouble the Raiders. The Raiders have lost three straight and need a win, and the Rams have lost two straight. This is a very winnable game for the Raiders; they need to play hard, sound football, and avoid mistakes.
Throw the deep ball
The Raiders waited until the game's final drive to take deep shots downfield. Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins connected on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker. Many have questioned Cousins' arm strength, but he looked strong enough on that play.
On Wednesday, Raiders head coach Kubiak was asked if there are more opportunities to throw downfield and if it could open things up for the rest of the offense.
“I do, obviously, anytime you can make that part of your offense, it's gonna make the whole team successful," Kubiak said. "But I really love his decision-making. It's not something you just go throw it up in the air and hope something good happens. You got to get the right look with the right guy running the route for us to be successful. I think that's part of our of a formula that we can use, but you got to read the defense. That's the most important thing.'
Tucker needs opportunities to stretch the field and challenge the Rams' secondary. Brock Bowers could also be a serious threat, especially since the Rams won't expect him to go deep. Throwing deep would help open up the Raiders' rushing attack and all the underneath routes.
Establish the run and stick with it
This sounds like a broken record every week with the Raiders' running game. The Raiders' leading rusher, Ashton Jeanty, has rushed for 313 yards on 98 carries, averaging just 3.2 yards per attempt. Those numbers are not good enough.
The Raiders' offensive line needs to block better at the point of attack to give Jeanty more chances to reach the second level and do damage. Also, the Raiders should give rookie Mike Washington Jr. more carries. He rushed for 43 yards on nine carries last week. The Raiders have capable running backs; the offensive line just needs to play more physically and open up holes.
Los Angeles is dealing with injuries along its defensive front, including Poona Ford and Kobie Turner. The Raiders must take advantage and get the run game going to win the time-of-possession battle.
Get physical with Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua is the Rams' No.1 target, especially with Davante Adams out with a hamstring injury. He has 37 receptions for 414 yards and one touchdown. The Raiders cannot let the All Pro receiver dominate them. The Raiders must communicate and play disciplined in the secondary to contain Nacua.
The Raiders' corners must be physical and depend on safety help on crucial downs to slow down the crafty receiver. Also, once he gets the ball, Raiders defenders must get him down ASAP; he is a monster after the catch.
The Raiders' cornerbacks must play a physical style of coverage; you cannot play soft coverage against a receiver like Nacua. Look for Eric Stokes and Darien Porter to cover the veteran receiver a lot; I think Hezekiah Masses is too small for the assignment. The Raiders need somebody who can be physical with the superstar receiver.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders keys to victory vs Rams Week 7
